


Aren't We Forever?

by thomastairparis



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, I dont know how to tag, Kissing, Marriage Proposal, Not Beta Read, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, cute blackstairs, proposal during sunset
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:41:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29412081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thomastairparis/pseuds/thomastairparis
Summary: Julian planned a big Valentine's Day surprise for EmmaA very short one shot
Relationships: Julian Blackthorn/Emma Carstairs
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Aren't We Forever?

**Author's Note:**

> this is minuscule and, like everything else i write, unedited. but i think it's kinda cute and i missed blackstairs, so enjoy

_ Emma,  _

_ Happy Valentine's day, baby. Meet me on the roof at sunset, I have a surprise planned. I think you might want to dress up, but I don’t mind either way; you look beautiful in everything.  _

_ Yrs forever, _

_ Julian _

_ ~~~ _

Julian fiddled with the easel, setting up the painting so it rested nicely on the wood. The exact angle of the painting was something much too small and insignificant to be paying this much attention to, but it didn’t matter. He needed everything to be perfect. 

Julian had laid a blanket out on the flat surface of the institute roof, setting out dinner and a bottle of champagne on top of it. His heart was pounding in his chest and he couldn’t calm it, no matter how hard it tried. 

“Julian,” a soft, familiar voice greeted from behind him. 

He turned, his breath catching. Emma was in a pale, pink V-cut dress that fell to just below her knees. She was holding a pink plush bear. Julian couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Emma. You came.”

“Of course,” she laughed, her eyebrows knitting together. “And you’re lucky for that. If it were anyone else, I’d probably just ghost them, leaving them wanting more.”

“I don’t get that special treatment?” He grinned at her. “I could use a little bit of wanting.”

“You want me anyway.” She sidled over to him, leaning up to kiss him. “Honestly, if you weren’t wanting me all day, you might actually have time to relax.”

Julian sighed against her lips, his hand going into her thick locks of blonde hair. “Imagine that. Me, relaxing.”

Emma grinned, stepping back and looking around at everything Julian had set up for her. Her eyes scanned over the blanket of food to the easel holding the painting. Emma’s eyes widened. “Jules...Julian, it’s lovely. I only got you this…” She held up the bear.

It was a painting of Emma that Julian had spent weeks perfecting. In it, Emma was standing in a field of red roses, looking ethereal in a golden dress. Her hair was pinned up and her eyes were closed. 

Julian reached out, taking the bear from her. “I love it, Em. It’s cute.”

Emma didn’t answer. She looked back at the painting and stepped forward, touching the canvas paper with careful fingers. She turned to him, looking back at the dinner he had set up. She walked back over to Julian, taking his wrist in her slim fingers. She pushed back the sea glass bracelet he always wore on his wrist, slowly tracing letters onto his skin.  _ Yes _

Julian’s heart leapt in his chest. “What?”

“You were going to ask me something, I can tell.” Emma dropped his wrist, reaching up to cup his cheek instead. Julian wound his arm around her waist. “And my answer is yes.”

“What if I was going to ask you if you wanted to bathe in sewer water?” He teased, pressing his lips to her temple.

“Lucky me, I know for a fact that isn’t what you were going to ask.” Emma stroked her calloused thumb along his cheekbone. 

Julian swallowed down the nervous lump in his throat. “Then when was I going to ask?”

Emma reached behind him and Julian felt a tug at his back pocket. Their eyes met and the setting sun made the golden specks of her brown eyes glow. Emma stepped back and held up a small, black velvet box. “You were going to ask me to marry you.”

Julian chuckled, staring at her in absolute wonder. “How do you do that?”

Emma smiled up at him, biting down lightly on her bottom lip. “What do you mean?”

“You always manage to read my mind,” he mumbled, tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear. 

Emma rolled her eyes. “No I can’t. You used to hide so much from me.”

“Em, I haven’t gotten away with hiding  _ anything _ from you since we were seventeen.” He frowned. “It’s been four years since I’ve even tried. Honestly, I’ve been too scared you’ll stab me, now that it wouldn’t hurt you as well.”

Emma snorted, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I guess...I can read your mind because even if our souls are no longer tied, you’re still my soulmate. The gold dress in the painting was also a dead giveaway.” She added, “and for the record, I would never stab you. Diana would  _ kill _ me.”

Julian snorted. They were both adults now, but Emma had a point. Diana being disappointed in them still felt as awful as it had when they were teenagers. 

Julian bumped his forehead against hers. “So...yes? You’ll marry me?”

Emma nodded, her eyes sparkling. “Of course I will. But you’re taking my last name.”

Julian nodded with a soft laugh and kissed her softly. He quickly broke it off to hesitantly ask, “you’re sure? We’re only in our early twenties and marriage is forever...”

“Aren’t we forever?” They were the same words he had once said to her, years ago, when he had asked her to be parabatai. Hearing her say them back to him made his heart swell with love and nostalgia.

He kissed her hard, pulling her against his chest. He mumbled into her mouth, “we are forever. By the angel, yes, we are.”

Julian had prepared a whole speech, but that didn’t matter now. He could figure out a way to incorporate it into his vows or just discard the whole thing. He didn’t care. He was marrying Emma Carstairs. The girl he had dreamed of having since he was 14. The girl he thought it would be impossible to have. The girl he had risked everything for. The girl he would risk everything for again and again, without any hesitation. 

Julian Blackthorn loved Emma Carstairs. He always had. He always would. He was born to love her and he would die loving her. She was his heart, his soul, his parabatai, his home, and his future wife. She was his Emma and she was marrying him.

**Author's Note:**

> please leave feedback and kudos if you liked it. if you maybe want to follow me on twitter i'm @1902PARIS


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